Friday, 7 August 2009

It's my favourite place on earth, Durham Cathedral. I didn't go in, I just wandered around the riverside. I'll save my trip inside for another day. For today, I took a walk along memory lane.

About twenty five years ago, I used to work in Durham City in the Careers Office on the riverside, overlooking the Cathedral. This was the view! If I was going into a meeting, I made sure I got there early to get a seat facing the window overlooking the Cathedral. Well if I got bored, I could always take in the view! Must have been the best view from any office in the whole of England!

In the summer holidays, a friend and I, when we didn't have to be in school all day, (we were careers advisers), used to take our sandwiches down to the riverbank and sit, relax and take in the view. It was so peaceful and we often saw little water rats running about. Other times we'd walk up to the Cathedral and just sit.

Today it was especially quiet. Hard to believe as you're about two minutes from the shops and traffic and you can't hear anything other than the river.

River Wear looking to Framwellgate Bridge

If you're ever in Durham, just take a walk along the river bank, it's wonderful. It's a bit more overgrown than I remembered, but as you see hardly anyone goes there, even in the middle of the summer holidays. Peace, perfect peace!

Bill Bryson in Notes From a Small Island, wrote about Durham:

"...it's wonderful - a perfect little city - and I kept thinking:"Why did no one tell me about this?"

I knew of course that it had a fine Norman cathedral but I had no idea it was so splendid. I couldn't believe that not once in twenty years had anyone said to me, "You've never been to Durham? Good God, man, you must go at once! Please take my car."

I had read countless travel pieces in Sunday papers about weekends away in York, Canterbury, Norwich, even Lincoln, but I couldn't remember reading a single one about Durham, and when I asked friends about it, I I found hardly any who had ever been there.

So let me say it now, if you have never been to Durham, go at once. Take my car. It's wonderful.

Now I haven't got Bill Bryson's address for you ask to borrow his car, but he's the Chancellor of Durham University, (you can see he really did fall in love with the place) so just address any requests to Durham University, I'm sure they'll find him!

Post 112

Now can anyone tell me why these photos don't enlarge when I've added them in exactly the same way as the ones that do?

Got some information from Abe Lincoln and so I reduced one of the photos to see if that would work. It seems to have done the trick, for now. Thanks Abe. If you haven't seen his fabulous photos already take a look here http://pickapeckofpixels.blogspot.com

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Unfortunately one of my daughter's little bunnies had to be put to sleep today. He was OK until yesterday then sadly last night he got worse.

The other is showing no signs as yet, but as they were together until today, she could still develop it. If she survives, she'll need a vaccination. I thought she would have developed immunity but the vet said she wouldn't.

I was in at our vet's today to pick up special renal food for one of my old cats who has developed kidney problems. My husband is getting worried about the costs of all the bills for food and tablets. No NHS for pets!

I looked around and there was no mention of the myxomatosis there either. No posters or leaflets. Wouldn't you think they would be advertising the danger. Strange!

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Well I always knew it was good for you but I didn't realise just how much!Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, have been studying the benefits of crafts in reducing memory loss. In case you ever needed proof that knitting is good for you, here’s the story.

Nearly 200 people between 70 and 89 took part in the study. The results showed that regularly taking part in craft activities such as knitting or patchwork can reduce memory loss by 40%.

It appears that watching hours of television increases the risk of memory loss, so to make the most of knitting’s essential benefits, switch off the telly and stick with the knitting.

The UK’s Alzheimer’s Society has come to similar conclusions, and believes that certain activities, including knitting, can enable the brain to develop reserve brain connections that can delay dementia.

Well now you can justify all that stuff you buy. No need for excuses, you have a valid reason. "Oh no pet, I'm not wasting money, I'm staving off demenentia"!

I got this information from Coats Craft website. There are some great free knitting, crochet, cross stitch and sewing patterns there.

Sunday, 2 August 2009

I've never heard of pet rabbits getting it and I thought that it had disappeared in the 'fifties. I remembered hearing about it when I was little and how 95% of the wild rabbit population was wiped out.

Well it hasn't disappeared which shows how much I know! I would have thought there would have been something on the news or in the countless animal care programmes we watch but I've never heard a whisper.

Apparently it's spread by fleas and mosquitoes so pet rabbits need to be vaccinated.

So why didn't the vet mention this? We had rabbits for years when my children were little and it was never mentioned. They're usually pretty quick on the uptake about vaccinations for pets.

The vet said they'd been very unlucky as it's quite rare for pet rabbits with no contact with wild ones to catch it. My daughter keeps an eye on them all the time so she knew immediately that one of them wasn't well, the second one had no symptoms but will obviously be infected.

It's still in the very early stages so the vet is treating the secondary infections as the virus itself isn't the killer. She said she doesn't normally see them with so few symptoms so it was worth trying to save them. However she said they could just decline quickly and they need to be watched a lot.